Northeast Atlantic: central Norwegian coast and the Faeroe Islands southwards through the North Sea and around the British Isles to the region around the Straits of Gibraltar. Reported from Iceland (Ref. 12462). Also in the western and northern coasts of the Mediterranean.

Size / Weight / Age

Dorsalspines
(total): 0;
Analspines: 0. First dorsal ray followed by a row of small, fleshy filaments. Color is varies from dusky to pale. Fin coloration varies geographically in the Western Atlantic, with southern specimens having more dark blotches than northern ones (Ref. 1371). One barbel on the lower jaw and two on the snout. Large chocolate brown spots on head and body (Ref. 35388).

Biology
Glossary
(e.g. epibenthic)

Found on rocky bottoms but also on mud, sand and gravel. Feed on shrimps, crabs, isopods, small fish, mollusks and polychaetes (Ref. 1371). Spawn during spring and summer in the Mediterranean. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 1371).